She forced herself to drink the water.
Another.
Then one more.
Her heart and brain saw the food as poison, but her stomach wanted it. She ran to the bathroom after choking on the food and throwing up everything she had consumed.
She sobbed once more as she went back to her bed, cleaned the table, and threw the package in the trash.
She closed her eyes and returned to the bed.
That night, sleep did not take her gently. With a slow, dragging weight, it pulled her downward, as if something invisible had wrapped itself around her and was leading her into a place she never intended to go.
She discovered that she was moving through an area with no distinct boundaries or shapes. It felt both enclosed and limitless, like a room that had forgotten its walls. Except for the slight awareness that she was still moving forward beneath her feet, darkness enveloped everything, thick and complete, making it impossible to distinguish between ground and distance.
